1. Quadrophenia Character Representation
Jimmy
Jimmy a working class youth who thinks
his only purpose in life is to be a mod. He
likes being part of a gang and enjoys the
group identity, although he doesn’t think
he just the same as every other mod and
believes that one day he’s going to be
somebody. He takes being a mod very
seriously and would give his life for his
friends. He has a difficult relationship
with his parents who don’t approve of his lifestyle and want his to have an
ordinary life and act them and the rest of society. He has an ordinary and
unimportant job as a post boy he doesn’t enjoy his job and ultimately gives it up,
as he believes being a mod. His philosophy is challenged when his old friend
Kevin is now Rocker, he then begin to think that being a mod isn’t everything.
When he sees Ace Face his idol and the coolest mod working as a bell boy,
becomes furious and begins to question the mod lifestyle. Stealing Ace’s bike and
driving it off a cliff symbolises him rejecting this lifestyle.
Steph
Steph is one of only a few female
characters in the mod crew, and plays a
different role in the gang because of her
gender. She doesn’t own a bike like the
other and comes across as though she
doesn’t care for the lifestyle and its values
like Jimmy does. For here there is more to
her life than just being a mod, she has an
ordinary job which she seems to enjoy and
even when compared to other female mods
she is quite feminine. During the course of
the she interacts with several male members and shows little loyalty to them or
indeed to being a mod.
Kevin
Kevin become a Rocker after serving in the army, after
his time there he realised there’d no real way of being
different and that really everyone’s the same. He
begins to change Jimmy’s perceptions about what
Rockers are, Jimmy and him get along and remain
friends despite their differences. Kevin is violently
beaten by the group of mods; Jimmy attempts to join
in but cannot beat his friend. At this point Jimmy
begins to question his mod way of life.